WASHINGTON – Senator Richard Shelby, R-Ala., Announced on Monday that he will not seek re-election in 2022, becoming the fourth Republican senator to announce plans to retire at the end of the current Congress.
“Today I announce that I will not attempt a seventh term in the United States Senate in 2022,” said Shelby in a statement.
“During my time in the Senate, I had great opportunities, having chaired four committees: Appropriations, Rules, Banking and Intelligence. In these leadership positions, I have endeavored to influence legislation that will have a lasting impact – creating the conditions for growth and opportunity, ”he added.
Shelby, 86, made it clear that he plans to serve the remainder of his current term until 2022. He has been in Congress since 1979, first serving in the House for eight years and then in the Senate for more than three decades.
Until Democrats recently took control of the Senate, Shelby served as chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.
Shelby’s seat is among the 20 Senate seats currently held by Republicans to be contested in the next midterm elections. There are also 14 Democrats in the Senate who will also be re-elected.
This came shortly after Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Pat Toomey, R-Pa., Announced plans to step down in 2022 as well. Senator Richard Burr, RN.C., had previously said he would not seek re-election either.
Shelby’s announcement also came a day before the start of the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump in the Senate. Republicans are under pressure to vote to condemn Trump after the House impeached last month for his role in the January 6 riot on Capitol Hill, but most signaled they were unlikely to do so.
